A massive die-off of bees has decimated the local population, leaving farmers with significantly smaller crops.

Minister of Public Works Derrick Burgess revealed in a statement in the House of Assembly yesterday that between 50 and 60 percent of the Island's bee population has been wiped out by a combination of bad weather, ants and the varroa mite.

And with even more bees expected to die during the winter months, the problem is expected to get worse before it gets better.

Along with reducing the Island's honey production by 75 percent, crops including squash, pumpkin, loquats, pawpaw and citrus fruits will all be affected.

"Last year, a west end farmer produced 50 truck loads of pumpkin," said Mr. Burgess.

"This year, the farmer actually planted more fields with pumpkin, but those fields have produced only four truck loads.

"These statistics represent thousands of dollars of production loss.

"They also illustrate how the bee die-off will have a tremendous negative impact upon Bermuda's economy, its farming community in particular."

Local farmer Tom Wadson called the bee die-off a disaster. "I've seen a big downturn in pumpkins," he said. "They're a good size, but there are just not that many of them.

"To say this is a potential catastrophe is to put it mildly."

While the die-off has only affected the Island in the past two years, bee colonies across the world have been wiped out by what has been called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

The problem is caused by a number of factors, ranging from viruses to pesticide, which when combined overwhelm the bees' immune system.

The varroa mite, a major contributor to CCD was discovered on the Island in November.

A spread of the mite, combined with the effects of Hurricane Igor and a large number of ants, has reduced the number of hives on the Island from 365 to 180 in less than two years.

One visiting expert said that if the die-off continues unabated, the Island could be left with only 18 hives, ending local honey production and crippling the farming industry, forcing Bermuda to become far more reliant on imported goods.

Mr. Burgess said that staff from the Departments of Conservation Services, Parks and Environmental Protection are working to develop a strategy to combat the problem.

While there is no guaranteed solution for the problem, the Minister said Government will work to safeguard colonies and help farmers to switch to crops less reliant on bees.

"Although the current status of our population of bees is not encouraging, we must be thankful that we are not experiencing the full range of problems being experienced by some of our neighbours," Mr. Burgess said.

"Therefore, our bees are less stressed than those in some jurisdictions and more easily treatable."

While there is no known remedy for the varroa mite, Mr. Burgess said reducing other stressing factors could help preserve the bee population.

Among the strategies that are being considered are safeguarding a feral bee population on Nonsuch Island and introducing an integrated pest management system.

The Department of Conservation Services will also request funding to rear varroa resistant queen bees to help speed the population's recovery, and purchase equipment to set up experimental hives and chemicals designed to treat high levels of the varroa mite.

"There is no known cure for the die-off," said Mr. Burgess. "However, it is hoped that an integrated across-government strategy will lead to the critically important regeneration of the population of bees within three to five years."